A healthcare provider’s website serves as a valuable source of information for patients—but it should also be used as a key recruitment tool to attract top physicians, surgeons, and specialists. Is your site helping you engage potential providers and operations staff, or are your competitors winning the hiring game?
In 2023, staffing challenges will continue to plague the healthcare sector. Lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including pandemic-delayed care and physician burnout, will create a heightened demand for providers. As that demand grows, your organization must be able to recruit talent that matches the need—and your website should be a gateway to filling open roles. Here are four key actions you can take to transform your website into an effective recruiting tool.
Showcase the Benefits of Your Organization & Community
From the moment a candidate lands on your website, your differentiators should be clear. For example, how is being a radiologist at your health system and in your community different from any other system or community? Recent research found that the top three priorities for today’s job seekers are significant increases in income or benefits, greater opportunities for work-life balance, and roles that play to their strengths. Consider these strategies for making each of those elements clear on your website:
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Be transparent about your benefits package. List the offerings you provide, such as a specific amount of PTO (rather than just a generic “generous PTO policy” line).
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Show salaries in job listings. Only 12% of postings in the U.S. offer salary ranges, which means this is a great way to set your health system apart from the competition. Experts say being straightforward about salaries can also build a sense of trust with candidates.
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Include information about your local community. Job seekers who are considering your health system want to know why they should move to your area. Create a list of things to do, places to go, and best-kept secrets from your community to show interested candidates that the benefits of accepting a job go beyond just working at your hospital.
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Share testimonials from current physicians and staff. Today’s employees want to be able to do what they love. Give potential applicants a window into day-to-day life at your health system by including write-ups and videos from people who have firsthand experience. (Tip: Rather than creating annoying pop-up videos on a page, customize your careers page to ensure website visitors can select videos that appeal to them most.)
Tell a Compelling Story About Your Hospital
Your mission, values, and culture should be a centerpiece of your careers page. Encourage candidates to buy into your brand from the beginning. Several scientific studies have proven that the human brain has a chemical response to effective stories. When people are exposed to character-driven stories, the brain releases oxytocin, which creates an emotional connection and motivates trust. If your health system can tell a compelling story about your mission, candidates will feel drawn to apply and become part of your community.
In the same way you share employee testimonials on your careers page, be sure to share patient testimonials throughout your website—let prospective applicants know who you serve and how you’re making a difference. You can also spotlight your involvement in the community by providing a list of local organizations you partner with, sharing about local initiatives that align with your mission, and being transparent about your plans for growth. Most importantly, make sure every element of your story offers a call to action about joining the team. For example, the Careers page for Johnson & Johnson provides opportunities for candidates to explore life at the company, diversity & inclusion initiatives, and more—but it is always easy for a site visitor to search for open positions once they’ve finished learning about J&J’s mission and values.
Use Standard Key Words & Phrases in Job Descriptions
The description for a job posting is the key to attracting top talent, and it has the power to make or break an applicant’s decision. According to one report from Indeed, 24% of degree-holding job seekers have decided not to apply for a job based on only the description’s tone. Are you using language and style that appeals to your desired specialists and providers? What key words are you implementing to make sure you show up in their job search? Understanding your audience and updating your job descriptions with the most common words and phrases will help qualified candidates find you more easily.
Other reasons people have opted out from applying for jobs after reading the description include a perceived lack of experience (31%), lack of education (31%), or lack of technical skills (31%). If you stuff your postings with too many possible key words, you could end up discouraging qualified candidates. Designing your careers page with the support of SEO experts is crucial to creating successful job postings. By investing in a partnership with someone who understands common search practices—and knows exactly what your desired audience is looking for—you can be confident that your health system’s job descriptions are drawing in the best possible candidates.
Make Job Postings Easy to Share
One of the best ways to attract employees is through referrals. In fact, as of 2022, employee referrals make up 30-40% of all hires. Does your careers page make it easy for your current staff to share jobs with people they know? Can they publish the opening to their LinkedIn network with one click? Simplifying the user experience goes a long way toward encouraging engagement with your job postings—and the more people spread the news, the larger your applicant pool will be.
Customize your careers page to make sure each open job can be shared quickly on a variety of platforms. Include icons that redirect to LinkedIn, email, and SMS texts—and make sure each page opens with a pre-written message ready to be published or sent. Making a referral should require minimal effort from your employees. If the process is too complicated, they won’t think it’s worth the effort to share the job posting, and you could miss out on qualified candidates.
Recruitment Made Simple
In the wake of the Great Resignation, finding top talent poses a serious challenge to today’s healthcare executives. You want committed specialists, providers, and operations staff who will buy into your mission and commit to your community—but you need to find them first.
Your website can be your most powerful recruitment tool if you can create an engaging, compelling user experience that showcases your best differentiators, tells a story that generates buy-in, masters efficient job descriptions, and prioritizes referral options. If all those steps feel overwhelming, reach out to our team at Unleashed to develop a custom solution that makes recruiting simple.
